jesus sometimes it just hits me how much money i spend on fish and tanks and decor etc etc etc... im coming close to the €2,000 mark!!! and im in debt and keep thinking if i had never gotten into fish i wouldnt be in this situation...
and for some reaon it never ends! either a fish is ill and i need to get something, or re-stock food or accessories or something breaks... its not like getting a bowl and a fish and your done.... it just keeps piling up and up and up and up...
i dunno, im slightly depressed!!! i thought getting my new tanks will cheer me up, but i look at them and i hear a voice going "OMG you fool!!!"... even my boyfriend had a giggle... but i felt stupid caus i couldnt justify my spending spree at all...
and sometimes in town i do pass a shop and think "omg what a lovely dress, i want it!" but cant afford it..

and worse thing is im loosing my mum's support... she thought its all good till now BUT i didnt tell her bout my new tanks and she will loose the plot when she finds out!! what will i do!!???

anyone else get hit by reality? its painful...
i need some cheering up peeps... no one around me is into fish so they dont understand!

I'm trying not to think about how much I've sunk into my tanks, actually ;) I totally understand where you're coming from.

I don't think it's bad, per se, to sink a lot of money into your fish. It's your hobby! It's what brings you joy! I do think that, like any other hobby, there's a big potential to lose yourself in what aquarium swag you want right now. Just one more fish! Just a few more plants! Haha. Spending gets out of control then, and pretty soon you're sitting there with a big credit card bill and a lot of remorse. It sounds like maybe you're getting to this point?

I set myself a budget for how much fun stuff I can buy myself a month. Cute little dresses, aquarium stuff, etc, all comes out of this fund. This sort of reigns in my spending. Maybe this would work for you? Just a thought :)

Yep!!!! It does! My parents don't pay for a SINGLE penny of my fish stuff. Except my mom bought me one of my fish, but that was just a gift. :)

My brother has a really good rule though: Before you buy anything, earn twice the amount of the thing. That way you never go broke! I'm not a spender, and defiantly think before I spend. Just be very careful with your money 'til you have something saved back up. And ask for Pet shop gift cards for your birthday and christmas presents!

Uggh yeah I have spent way too much on aquariums... even right now it is just sucking me in. You know when you have to buy stuff just to keep up? What started out as a simple tank upgrade for me expanded to a lighting upgrade which now means I need co2 for my plants which means if I don't buy a full set of fertilisers the plants I spend $50 on will die... I would have to say I've spent at least $1000 CDN on aquariums since I started almost a year ago. Hopefully it will stop soon lol and I can use the money I get from selling endler fry and plants to pay for new stuff.

When I get home I gotta inventory how much $$$ I currently have in aquariums and find a stopping point... its a very addictive hobby!!!

@silersangrymeow;
well, the thing is setting a budget doesnt work for me because im actually not an experienced fish keeper as such, so everytime i face a new lil problem (i could have prevented had i known more) i need to go out and buy something to sort it... BUT the thing is that even a lil bottle of conditioner costs €9! and with all the water changing i use alot of it. thats just a small example though.
another reason why a set budget wont work for me (worst of ALL) im a total perfectionist! infact im a freak that way... and i want my fish to be perfectly happy and spoilt... but my finances cant take my "style"...

the thing is, i've given up everything that id need... i dont drink, i dont go out, i dont shop for clothes or shoes, i dont have make-up, for heaven's sake mostly i dont even have anything in the fridge!!!!! i even doss my way around car tax sometimes!!!!

I try to save, and i manage BUT not when it comes to fish.... or cars LOL but i've even given up on my sporty car too! my whole life seems to revolve around fish and im just scared that ppl around me will leave me because of my mad endless NEED for more more more more....

@doggyhog;
earn twice as much??? jesus i'd be a millionaire if that would work!!! im only a college student but somehow i always find a penny here and there to spend but i always forget (or ignore) the fact that the debts wont go away by themselves...

the thing that ruins me mostly is my rent and bills... i live in an apartment that costs more than i take in each month... i should really share it with another student and that would be senseable BUT i have a BF that isnt fond of the idea :(

aaah yes.. my husband and I have had this discussion/fight many times... Like when I bought my 4th betta... and my 5th betta... oh and my 6th and 7th betta.... and by the 8th he just gave up and barely even looked twice when I got my 9th betta.... but I've managed to slow down (I used to want to get one each week...now it's down to maybe every 2 or 3?). But what has really slowed me down is the upkeep and managing ill bettas. It's just so stressful and I don't want to be changing water all the time. So once I fill the last two slots in my divided tanks, I'm done. I have no fish lovers around me either so they all think I'm the crazy betta lady (that gets old after a while). And my hubby doesn't really have any hobbies (besides sports) and nothing that costs anything so I can't use that as leverage.

One thing that I have done that has worked well is sell LOTS of things on CL. When i get a new tank, i sell the old one. Old desk? Sell it. Old toys that are worth a decent amount? Sell them. So I've spent a bit more than I have taken in, but not by a WHOLE bunch.

Yeah, I totally understand. I keep saying THIS is the last fish. I said that with Whiskey, Kilo, and now Nugget. My husband just grumbles and then throws his hands up. He loves animals though, so it's not too hard to get him to love them too. Kilo is his buddy.

I don't want to comtemplate how much I've spent. Probably enough to get one monstrous tank setup. :P